Stephanie Dixon looks at her sister, Nicole, as she talks about their mother, Suzette Langlois, who was shot to death outside her home in Bellevue in August 2016.(Photo: Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

BELLEVUE – A-year-and-half after Suzette Langlois was found shot to death in her car, an investigator said authorities are narrowing in on who killed the 52-year-old and why.

Brian Slinger, a sergeant investigator for the Brown County Sheriff's Office, said one of the greatest challenges has been sifting through all of the rumors surrounding the 2016 homicide. He said stories change and second-hand accounts have come in from everywhere, including behind prison walls.

If there's a common denominator, he said, it's that sources are consistently saying that drugs played a central role in Langlois' murder.

She was found dead in her car in the driveway of her duplex at 3020 Manitowoc Road on Aug. 29, 2016, by sheriff's deputies responding to a 1:50 a.m. report of gunfire in her Bellevue neighborhood.

Slinger said invetigators have determined that Langlois was with a friend earlier that night at Oneida Casino on West Mason Street. Cellphone records show she had ongoing communication with several people through text and phone calls during the course of the evening. Video surveillance at a location Slinger would not disclose shows Langlois alive and well a little after 1 a.m.

Other than that, few details about the investigation have been made public, and nothing has been said regarding evidence or persons of interest.

Slinger this week said investigators are zeroing in on a particular person, but they're waiting for a little more evidence before they can make an arrest.

He said the last thing investigators want is a repeat of what happened early on in the Nicole VanderHeyden murder case. Deputies initially arrested VanderHeyden's boyfriend but later released him and arrested George Burch, who was convicted last month of killing the 31-year-old mother of three.

Langlois' daughters are OK with the waiting game if it means catching the person who killed their mother and getting answers for those who loved their mom.

"I would hate for them (law enforcement) to bring forth something and go to trial and for it to not be enough to prosecute or convict," Stephanie Dixon said. "I want to make sure that if they find who did it that there's no chance for them to get away with it."

"We're just hoping it's not someone we know," Nicole Dixon said. "That would be a heartache all over again."

Slinger and Langlois' daughters held a press conference Thursday afternoon as a means of showing a united front between the police, the family and the community.

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Suzette Langlois' daughers Stephanie and Nicole Dixon listen as Brown County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Slinger speaks during a news conference Thursday about the status of the investigation of Langlois murder in 2016.(Photo: Jim Matthews/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

'A lot of information'

Slinger said information in these types of cases is often withheld from the public and even those closest to victims in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

"There is a lot of information in this case that maybe only one or two people know the answers to and those would be the people who are responsible for this crime," he said. "So if there ever is a time when someone comes forward with that information we can be sure it's truthful. If we are divulging every piece of our investigation, people can easily then regurgitate that to us."

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Nicole Dixon listens as her sister, Stephanie, talks on March 14, 2018 about their mother, Suzette Langlois, who was shot to death outside her home in Bellevue in August 2016.(Photo: Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

What Slinger is now revealing is that while the investigation remains open and circumstances cloudy, some elements of the case are becoming clear. The big one being drugs — particularly methamphetamine — likely played a role in Langlois' shooting death in some way.

Authorities have conducted numerous interviews, including about 20 with people who are in custody in various jails and prisons for other crimes. A lot of statements, he said, point to an unsettled drug debt as a potential motive for the shooting.

Slinger believes evidence supports that premise. If it is true, though, he said it is unclear whether Langlois was the specific target or if her murder was meant to send a message to a person or a group of people with whom she was associated.

The progress being made in the case now, although troubling, provides some hope to Stephanie and Nicole that one day they'll find out who cut their mother's life short and that justice will be served.

They said they don't believe their mother was involved in drugs, criminal activity of any kind, or that she associated with anyone who is. However, they said they've been warned by authorities that some uncomfortable details might come to light.

"We still understand that," Nicole said. "We just want to know the truth. Anyone who knows Mom knows she wasn't perfect in every way. We all have our flaws. I don't think this was meant for her. I don't think she was so naive to knowingly get involved with something so serious or people who were, but I do think if it does come out that it was meant for her, a lot of people are going to be shocked."

Slinger said an autopsy showed traces of several drugs in Langlois' system. He also said Langlois and her fiance, Jason Barfell, were a part of a motorcycle club that has connections to street gangs.

Still, Slinger is clear that the road the investigation is on doesn't necessarily mean Langlois was dealing illegal drugs or that she had knowledge of the severity of the circumstances surrounding people in her life.

'A ruthless killer'

As the rumor mill continues to complicate the investigation, so do the reasons for certain people sharing their rumors — as well as those who aren't saying much of anything.

Slinger said investigators take all claims seriously, but often those already in custody offer up suspect information about a case as a way to try to cut a deal with police or prosecutors. Others might talk simply to get publicity.

On the flip side, he said, people with connections to illegal activity who might have useful information typically don't want to talk to police or lie out of fear they'll get in trouble or worse.

"They're scared," Slinger said. "Let's face it. The person who did this is a ruthless killer. A dangerous person."

Slinger said multiple people have also told the office inconsistent stories and aren't cooperating. "One or two people" close to the investigation have also refused to provide DNA samples, he said.

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A photo collage frame that now hangs in Nicole Dixon's house as a way to remember some of the best moments with her mom, Suzette Langlois. Langlois, 52, was found shot to death in her driveway last August. Authorities are still investigating the case.(Photo: Shelby Le Duc/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Perhaps one of the greatest frustrations is that Langlois' daughters and police have heard from multiple people who claimed to know something about the case but then changed their minds when contacted by an investigator.

Still, Slinger and Langlois' daughters urge anyone with information about Langlois' death to come forward. Even if it means remaining anonymous.

A 'strong, non-judgmental' mom

Langlois' daughters have accepted that only time will tell what happened to their mother and why. But what time can't do is heal their sadness.

Every day they miss their mother more.

Stephanie Dixon describes her mother as her "rock," someone who always was there when she needed to talk — even if that meant her mom just listened as she vented. Stephanie is expecting her first child, a daughter, and wishes now more than ever that her mother were there to offer her wisdom and help make memories.

"I knew I was pregnant on her birthday," she said with a smile. "But I waited to take the test until the day after because that is such a hard day. Still, it was kind of like, "Happy Birthday, Mom. You got what you always wanted."

Nicole Dixon said it upsets her that her mother will not be at her wedding this summer. She also misses her mother's strong, understanding nature. She said Langlois was the type to never judge anyone. Rather she was there to help and often put others before herself. She said that was evident in her mother's love of caring for her two young grandchildren when she was away at work.

She admits to having a recurring nightmare in which she is in the car with her mother when she is shot.

"It bothers me so much thinking about how scared she was and it's hard for me," she said.

What also bothers the sisters, is knowing how far their mother had come, only to be killed in such a heinous way. They said their mother had a rough childhood in a family with little money to buy the necessities. She was bullied growing up and dropped out of school. She also found herself in a lot of tumultuous relationships.

The sisters said the few years leading up to her death were the happiest she'd had in a long time. She was engaged, lived in a nice place and loved her grandchildren.

The women are comforted by the happy times, like the joy and freedom their mother said she felt while riding motorcycles. Or just thinking about how she was the cool mom with a fun sense of fashion.

"Sometimes it was a little too fun," Nicole Dixon said laughing, all the while knowing they would have never changed a thing about her.

They have changed one thing about themselves since the loss of their mother, though. That is they never stay mad at loved ones. Stephanie Dixon is candid about being angry with her mother around the time of her death and the last text messages between the two being ones she wishes she could take back.

It's a feeling she suspects Langlois' fiance is dealing with too. She sad Barfell has said he and Langlois were in a fight and that's why he wasn't with her on the night of her death.

"I think we've just really learned to never take anyone in our lives for granted," Stephanie said. "Because you never know if you'll see them again."